Under The White Tree
by AnnelieKeniston
Summary: Sephya's life has always been filled with hardship. She was rejected for being different and people feared her unusual powers. But after joining SOLDIER with an ulterior motive, she meets the upstanding, cheerful Zack and everything begins to change. (This work will be updated every month on the 20th)
1. Temporary Partners

Sephya was smiling to herself as she walked out of the elevator and stepped for the first time into floor 49 of the Shinra building. The SOLDIER floor.

Having passed all the necessary tests, she was a newly appointed SOLDIER 3rd class on her way to her first mission briefing. After spending the previous day and half of today stuck in a meeting room, getting earful after earful about her responsibilities as a member of SOLDIER and all kinds of crap she barely cared about but kind of needed to care about, Sephya was looking forward to heading out and hopefully getting some exercise. She'd joined SOLDIER to put her skills to use, and a few other things, not sit around all day talking.

With all the confidence someone walking around the place for the first time shouldn't have, Sephya easily found her way to the briefing room since she'd made it a point to memorize the floor plan beforehand. She was frowning for most of the way, thanks to having been forced to leave her extendable, double-bladed scythe behind, only to have it replaced by a standard-issue sword she cared for about as much as she cared for the dust sticking to the bottom of her black, lace-up boots. At least they'd let her keep her normal battle clothes, for the time being, until her goddam uniform was ready. She was tiny for a SOLDIER, yeah, sure, but did they have to point that out on her first day? Because she needed custom made, tiny uniforms? Damn lady at the front desk of the building was taller than her, for God's sake, and she had just been assigned to a military group comprised mostly of big, bulky men. Big, bulky men like Sephiroth, the hero no one seemed capable of shutting up about. She was feeling tiny enough as it was, thank you very much.

Still, confidence in her strength wasn't a problem for Sephya, never had been, as evidenced by her easily showing the mako infusion who's boss, stopping it from assaulting her senses in record time and passing the test that had worried her the most. She kind of missed her previously jade green eyes though. As unbelievable as it sounded, they had changed to the familiar green-blue, eerily glowing color common in mako infused soldiers, in less than a day. But she had no regrets, she couldn't afford to have any.

Knocking three times on the door adorned with a metal plaque that read "briefing room", Sephya got busy waiting for someone call her in. If possible, she wanted to avoid walking in on private conversations on her first day, especially after giving everyone the stink eye for taking her weapon of choice away.

"Come in." A deep male voice called from the other side of the door shortly after the knock.

Putting on the best smile she could find at the moment, she opened the door and walked in, closing up after herself.

"Excuse me." She said as she looked around the room, sparsely decorated with a long metal table full of monitors and a console and large monitor in the back. "SOLDIER 3rd class, Sephya Innes, reporting for duty."

The two men in the room looked her over from top to bottom, quite blatantly too, before the blond one wearing glasses and a prim stripped blazer stepped forward. She recognized him thanks to a photo she had seen during one of her earfuls the previous day. He was the director of SOLDIER, Lazard Deusericus. The other guy, with spiky black hair and mako eyes she didn't recognize, but he was definitely a SOLDIER like her.

"Sephya, it's nice to meet you. I'm Lazard, director of SOLDIER, and this here is Zack, SOLDIER 2nd class. We've been waiting for you."

Lazard motioned to the young SOLDIER as he introduced him, and Zack stepped forward, holding a hand out to Sephya.

"Zack Fair, nice to meet you Sephya."

Sephya smiled for real for the first time in a while as she shook Zack's hand. He had a bright, genuine smile that reached his eyes, the kind of smile Sephya rarely saw directed at her person, and despite being one rank above her, Zack looked like an easy to get along with nice guy.

"Nice to meet you too, umm…. Can I call you Zack?" She asked as she let go of Zack's hand and stepped back.

Zack chuckled and put his hands on his hips, looking confident. "Ahah, please do, I'm still pretty new around here too, and formalities aren't really my thing."

Zack made a funny face after saying "my thing", and Sephya couldn't help laughing.

"Well, looks like we already agree on something."

As Sephya and Zack hit it off without issue, the director cleared his throat, and Sephya straightened so fast she almost pulled a muscle. She might not like formalities, but SOLDIER was still a military group, so she had to be formal to a certain level, or risk getting kicked out. Her tendency to get sidetracked was going to be an issue.

"Well, I see you two will have no problems getting along." Lazard said with a smile. "Good thing too, because you're going on a mission together."

"Oh, really?" Sephya asked, unable to hide her surprise but still standing to attention with both hands linked behind her back. She hadn't expected to have company on her first mission, but if the company was Zack, she was cool with it. He didn't seem to be a pushover either.

Lazard nodded. "Yes, I thought it would be a good experience for both of you. Zack can teach you a few things and learn to deal with new recruits, and Sephya…" Director Lazard's piercing blue eyes focused on Sephya, seeming to examine her as a whole. "You had problems with teamwork during your exams, right?"

Busted, of course he would know. "… Yes, sir."

"Hey, no need to look so troubled. You passed the exams fair and square, and I'm not about to lecture you now. Just try to work together with Zack for now. That said, I have to ask…" Lazard brought a hand to his chin, rubbing it lightly before continuing. "Why aren't you in uniform?"

Busted, again. "Right, about that…" Sephya looked down at herself before answering, examining her outfit of choice. Her short black dress, with gold buttons running down the right side, leading to one of two side slits that revealed the black shorts she wore underneath, looked nothing like the SOLDIER uniform. But it was comfortable, and easy to move around in, and she was too tiny for her uniform… "My uniform is taking a bit longer to prepare, because I'm… small…"

Sephya looked away from Lazard as she spoke, feeling kind of self-conscious about the whole ordeal, but she still noticed his surprised, slightly uncomfortable expression.

"Oh, is that what happened… It can't be helped I guess, but now I'm a bit reluctant to send you on a mission without proper gear."

Director Lazard looked troubled as he pondered the situation, and Sephya started fidgeting with the leather sword scabbard around her waist, wondering if it was alright to say she didn't mind. She was strong, now even more thanks to the mako and harsh training, and she was fast too, the fastest out of everyone in the group she had been examined with. It might not be a sure thing, but she was confident in her abilities, and not about to chicken out of her first mission because of a possible scratch or two. That said, she didn't know how much would be too much if she started talking back at the moment.

"Director, it'll be fine. Let Sephya go on the mission, and I'll make sure she doesn't get hurt."

Sephya, who had been about to speak, looked at Zack with surprise as he spoke, completely confident in his ability to look out for her and himself.

All of a sudden, she felt herself blush, and when Zack looked at her, she immediately looked away, trying to hide her cheeks with the strawberry blond bangs slipping out of her tied hair. A long time, too long really, had passed since someone had tried to help her, much less someone she had just met. Sephya wasn't used to people being that nice and it felt… weird.

"That's nice of you to say Zack, but I can't risk—"

"I can handle myself director, you know I can."

Sephya's stare was unwavering as she looked the director in the eyes, sure he knew what she was referring to. She was the most capable out of all of the new recruits they had just hired, standing out quite a bit from the rest, and she was proud of it. Her strength was something she had worked hard to hone, and she'd be damned if someone denied one of the few good things she had. Especially after the sacrifice she'd made to join SOLDIER…

"I know Sephya, but that is why I don't want to risk it."

Sephya crossed her arms, still staring the director down. "I won't be so easily killed, or hurt, director."

Lazard sighed after a while of holding Sephya's stare, then sat on a chair close to the head of the table and turned on the monitor. "Fine then, but get that uniform sorted as soon as possible, alright?" Lazard said as he motioned for Sephya and Zack to stand closer to him.

"Yes, sir." Sephya said as she went to stand beside the director's chair, exchanging a smile with Zack along the way.

The briefing didn't take long, which was great because Sephya was itching to put stuffy meeting rooms in her past and get started on her first mission. As it turned out, she and Zack were teaming up to take on a weapon in development by Shinra. It was supposed to be a powerful machine, meant to support SOLDIER units out on field missions, but it was new and in need of testing before getting any real use. It sounded like a boring enough assignment at first, but the battle was for real and the machine wasn't pulling any punches, so Sephya was excited to see what would come of it.

As they exited the briefing room, headed to the testing area, Sephya and Zack crossed paths with Sephiroth, who greeted them with a curt nod on his way to the elevator. Sephya couldn't help following the SOLDIER hero with her eyes for a moment, surprised by how imposing he was in person. She'd seen him before on TV and photos in the newspaper and even magazines, but nothing could compare to the presence he had in the flesh. He was an attractive man, but that was just the tip of the iceberg when it came to him. He had an eerie aura around him, and his eyes, they were the weirdest out of everyone at SOLDIER. Out of everyone Sephya had ever met. Sephiroth had cat-like pupils on top of the usual mako eyes, and that made his stare unnervingly piercing. Maybe downright threatening.

"You okay, Sephya?" Zack asked, probably noticing her wandering eyes.

Snapping out of her gawking at Shinra's hero, Sephya focused on Zack, falling back into step with him after slowing down to stare at their coworker.

"Ah, yeah, sorry, it's just…"

"First time seeing Sephiroth?" Zack asked in a slightly amused tone.

Sephya nodded while adjusting the black ribbon holding her hair in a low ponytail. "Yeah… he has a lot of presence. Not surprising though, with how big he is."

Zack chuckled as he pushed open the door to the testing area. "Yeah, this place is full of big guys, but that particular big guy has a tendency to stand out. Have you heard about the fan clubs?"

Sephya stepped into the testing area after Zack, frowning as she closed the heavy metal door behind herself. "Fan clubs? Here?"

Zack nodded as he waved to a man in a lab coat, waiting all the way across the room. "Yeah, here… There's one for Sephiroth, one for Genesis and one for my mentor, Angeal. Needless to say, Sephiroth has a lot of fans, even outside of SOLDIER and Shinra. I'm surprised you didn't know."

Sephya chuckled uncomfortably, looking around at the room to avoid meeting Zack's eyes. "Ahah… yeah, those things have a tendency to pass me by…"

Zack glanced at her, looking unconvinced, but didn't press for information and their conversation came to an end.

In silence, the temporary partners approached the man wearing a lab coat and received further information concerning their mission. The man talking to them was part of the team developing the machine they would be testing, and told the pair about the specs of the enemy they were about to face, among other useful things. He also told them they shouldn't hold back, because the machine certainly wouldn't care and they could land themselves in hot water, since it took time to deactivate the thing in case of emergency. The information only served to increase Sephya's eagerness to start the mission, and thankfully the talking part of things was done pretty fast.

Stepping through a heavy, reinforced door into the area where the fighting would actually be taking place, both Zack and Sephya unsheathed their weapons, getting ready after seeing their massive, mechanical opponent. The thing was still inactive, and while they waited for the tech on the other side of a reinforced glass window to fire it up, Sephya swung her sword around, first with two hands, then one with a lot of effort, trying to get a feel for the foreign weapon. It didn't feel right, as usual, but she would make do. She had to, or Lazard would be right in doubting her skills.

"Damn… I want my scythe back." She whispered, eyes focused on the sword identical to Zack's.

Zack looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "Scythe?"

"Uh?" Sephya met Zack's confused gaze, snapping out of her grumpy thoughts. "Oh, yeah, it's the weapon I'm used to, but they said I have to use this sword now."

She held up the sword in her hand, just slightly, and Zack looked even more confused.

"Weapon you're used to? So you didn't train with a sword?" Sephya nodded, and Zack's expression changed to one of concern. "Then, will you be alright? Fighting with that I mean."

Sephya sighed and figured she might as well come clean to the person whose skills she might soon need to fall back on.

Concentrating, she took a deep breath, focusing her mind on the sword. In seconds, the heavy object was floating in front of her, blade pointed at the metallic floor. Zack gasped and Sephya grabbed the sword, then swung it around with one hand like it weighed nothing, her strikes as fast as ever. Zack just stared for a bit, probably surprised since even a big guy like him wielded the sword with both hands.

"What the hell was that?"

Just as Zack was finishing his question, the machine they were about to fight sprung to life, the eerie red light at the center of its gunmetal gray body focusing on the two of them.

"Tell you later, we've got work to do. Back me up Zack, I'll create an opening."

Before Zack had a chance to say no, Sephya took off running in the direction of the machine towering over her. Making her sword light with her magic, she slashed at the machine's thick metal legs, swiftly striking all four and making the thing lose its balance for a moment. Sure she had the enemy's attention, she jumped over it and it turned with her, facing away from Zack.

"Zack!" She called while parrying heavy blows from the recovering machine, and countering when she could.

Her SOLDIER partner immediately sprung to action, rushing the machine's back and dealing heavy damage with slashes a lot stronger than Sephya's. Which was good, strength was the shortcoming she was trying to make up for by teaming up, especially without her scythe. Sephya was fast, but being fast was her specialty, and it cost her blows the strength a stronger, slightly slower man like Zack could use. That also meant she had a harder time dealing with heavily armored enemies, like her current opponent.

Thanks to Zack's heavy blows, and despite Sephya's best efforts to hold the machine's attention with a flurry of fast slashes, the giant pile of metal ended up turning its attention to Zack. Just as Sephya was thinking the battle was under control and they could end it fast, the machine spun at high speed, throwing her back with a shock wave she parried, and using the momentum of the spin to land a heavy blow on Zack.

Despite blocking the attack at the last minute, Zack was still sent stumbling back by the force of the impact, and before he had a chance to fully recover, the machine was already striking again, forcing him to stay on the defensive to avoid getting struck down with one blow.

Still recovering from her own shitty situation, Sephya bit into her bottom lip as she got to her feet, watching her partner struggle by himself against the onslaught of heavy blows.

"Tch, this is more troublesome than I thought it would be…" She muttered, tasting blood after cutting her lip with her canines. "Zack! Can you keep that thing contained for 1 more minute?!" She called out as she sheathed her sword and held out both hands, palms forward.

Zack blocked yet another blow, gritting his teeth as he did and getting pushed back a bit more. His back was getting dangerously close to a wall. "I can try, probably! But…" Another heavy blow, spreading the sound of metal hitting metal around the empty testing room. The echoing clash was enough to make the ears ring. "What are you doing without your sword?!"

Zack's strained voice echoed around the room along with another metal clash, and Sephya winced, trying to stop the noise from breaking her focus. She couldn't answer Zack's loud question, not now at least, and not if they wanted to finish the mission with no serious injuries. As for light injuries, Zack would definitely be feeling his arms in a few hours, and Sephya, well she would just have to wait and see…


	2. Special Touch

"Minute's almost up Sephya! And yeah, I'm counting!" Zack shouted just as Sephya was finishing up, his strained but slightly joking tone making her smile as six crackling balls of condensed electricity appeared around her body.

In her rush to attack, Sephya faintly registered Zack's surprise, which she had been expecting. She didn't know what kind of materia he was equipped with and hadn't bothered to ask, but she had only been given a sleep materia so far, and Zack was probably aware of it. No way she should be using thunder magic, but that sleep materia wouldn't be stopping the pile of metal they were fighting anytime soon, so what choice did she have?

Not worrying about the consequences for the time being, Sephya made her orbs of lightning as concentrated as she could, then sent them flying at the machine one after the other, aiming the first ones at the legs to topple the thing, and the last ones at the red eye at its center.

As expected, the enemy's metal body was weak against lightning and the assault was successful, toppling the machine in front of a panting Zack. Smoke billowed out of their downed opponent, and the red light at its center dimmed, looking like it was about to go out. Just as Sephya and Zack were beginning to relax though, the machine's red eye sprung back to life and red lasers shot out of it, sweeping the room haphazardly.

The machine's last-ditch attack was so randomly aimed, it was impossible to predict where it would hit and dodge. Too busy keeping herself alive to help Zack or even check how he was doing, Sephya ducked under a laser that almost grazed the top of her head, then had to actually lie face-down on the cold metal floor to avoid yet another stray red line of death.

"Zack! Are you okay?!" She asked as loud as she could as she sprung to her feet, unable to spot Zack.

"Still alive at least! You!?" Came a voice from somewhere behind the rampaging pile of metal.

Sephya sighed with relief as she ran to their out of control opponent, jumping around to avoid the stray lasers as best she could. "Managing, somehow! And also about to make this thing eat my sword!"

"Ah, grea—wait, what!?"

Sephya smiled at Zack's surprised question just as she was jumping onto the still fallen machine, but the smile was quickly wiped from her face.

Spotting the threat, the machine turned three lasers on Sephya while she was still in mid-air. There was no dodging in her airborne state and she got hit with all three.

A stinging, burning pain erupted on her right thigh, followed by her left shoulder, and the last laser grazed her right cheek. She bit into her lip again, intent on resisting the pain long enough to deal the final blow. If she got shot down now, someone would have to try again, and that meant Zack could be the next one getting hurt. Sephya figured since she was already hurt, she might as well finish it and keep the damage contained.

"Stop..." She breathed as she landed close to the machine's center, raising her sword. "moving you goddamn piece of scrap!"

With an angry scream, she shoved the sword into the machine's red eye, narrowly avoiding getting skewered by a laser that died with the hulking piece of metal.

Exhausted, with her heart trying to break through her ribs, Sephya jumped down from the broken machine and sprawled out on the cold floor. Through the ringing in her ears, she heard Zack's heavy footsteps as he rushed to her side, then his black combat boots appeared in her low line of sight.

"Sephya! Are you okay!? And what the hell was that for!?" Zack pretty much shouted as he crouched down next to her, looking angry and worried all at the same time.

Sephya tried to shrug, but she was lying down and moving sucked at the moment. "The thing was looking mostly at you, so I thought I'd use the opening and finish it." She stopped to suck some air into her burning lungs before continuing. "I wasn't expecting those three lasers to turn on me like that since they were all just flying around aimlessly, but at least it's done, and only one of us got hurt. I'd say we didn't suck too bad."

She tried to smile, but the cut on her cheek forced her to stop, stinging like hell as it opened. Zack sighed and ran a hand through his hair, then held out a gloved hand.

"Well, if you won't say it, I will. We sucked, and I sucked even worse for letting a girl get hurt in my place. And I even told the director I'd protect you..."

Sephya huffed, taking Zack's hand and allowing him to help her to her feet. "Wow, real macho words right there Zack... And how do you think I feel? I told the director I wouldn't get hurt, this is embarrassing," She said, narrowing her eyes at him as she released her messed up hair from the ribbon tying it. Zack's eyes seemed to follow the movement of her long hair as it cascaded down her shoulders all the way to her hips. "You think I joined a military group because I was afraid of getting hurt? I'm not that frail, and I've been hurt worse than this. In training." Sephya tried to keep her focus on the steady stream of words coming out of her mouth as she walked to the door after Zack, limping slightly and hoping he didn't notice. "Of course, my sparring partner was a goddam monster without mercy, but still..."

Just as they were getting to the door, Zack stopped and Sephya almost bumped into his back. Looking up confused, she noticed he was holding out an arm and waiting while looking at her over his shoulder.

"Umm... does your arm hurt? I don't really do healing magic but-"

A long, exasperated sigh made Sephya go quiet while Zack turned to face her.

"No, my arm does not hurt, thanks to someone who doesn't do healing magic... I was hoping you would lean on me and stop trying to limp in secret."

Sephya opened her eyes wide at Zack's words, taking a moment to make sure she had heard him right. He wanted her to lean on him? Really?

"You know hell will freeze over before I lean on you, right?" She asked all matter of fact.

Zack sighed again and put his hands on his hips. "And why is that a fact, Sephya?" He asked, sounding as exasperated as he looked.

She shrugged, placing her black ribbon between her lips so she could comb her hair with her fingers. She winced as soon as she lifted her left arm though, remembering the cut on her shoulder a moment too late. "There's no need to lean on you, I'm fine and this shallow cut will close in a bit." She said after giving up on the hair and removing the ribbon from between her lips to loosely tie it around her wrist instead.

Narrowing his eyes, Zack glanced at the cut on her leg and the dark red blood trickling down her pale skin. "That is not a shallow cut, and it will be bad to put weight on it. We need to hurry to the infirmary, so will you please just lean on me for a few minutes? Accepting help doesn't make you weak, Sephya."

Zack looked dead serious as he spoke, and after taking another look at the messy cut on her leg, and feeling her bloody dress clinging to her shoulder as the cut there kept bleeding, Sephya sighed in defeat.

"Fine, let's just get this over with..."

Zack smiled at Sephya's reluctant agreement and offered his arm again. Feeling a surge of heat in her body that seemed to concentrate on her cheeks, she took a slow step closer to him and placed her palm on his bicep, feeling the bulging muscle tense slightly as her hand touched his warm skin. Her cheeks burned even further as she looked up to find Zack looking intently at her, the faint green glow of mako shining in his piercing sky blue eyes. A lump suddenly formed in her throat and she forced herself to swallow, looking away while holding onto Zack's powerful arm with one hand.

"Alright, that wasn't so hard now, was it?"

Finding herself unable to speak, Sephya just shook her head, keeping her eyes on the floor. Zack chuckled at her reaction, then took a careful step forward and she followed.

"So, I guess hell is frozen now." Zack joked and Sephya looked up at him, narrowing her eyes.

"Shut up." She said, heat coursing through her body when he winked, probably trying to lighten the mood but making her strangely aware of him.

It was a tortuously slow trip, but they eventually made it out of the testing room's battle area. With Zack doing most of the talking, they told the science guy they were going to the infirmary and that he should tell the director about the results of the mission, and also retrieve Sephya's sword from the machine's "face". Sephya and Zack would take care of their own reports later.

"Phew, it was slow going, but here we are." Zack said when they reached a white door with a metal plaque that read "infirmary".

Sephya let go of Zack's arm so he could knock on the door, and nearly breathed a sigh of relief when he moved away, taking the fuzzy feeling in her belly along with him. She didn't know where these feelings were all coming from, but she was starting to think she must be coming down with something. Or maybe it was just the blood loss making her weird.

"Oh come on, no one's here?" Zack complained when no one opened the door after a loud round of knocking.

"Hey Zack, there's a piece of paper stuck to the door." Sephya said, pointing to a white sheet of paper taped to the door just under the metal plaque. She couldn't make it out from where she was standing, but it looked like there was something written on it.

"Oh, I totally missed that..." Laughing at his own distraction, Zack leaned in to read whatever was on the paper, then sighed. "Well, this is great. Sian is in a meeting with the science department. Says here we can go in and use the supplies, but she might not be back for a while."

"Fine with me. If I can just slap a bandage on this and stop it from bleeding down my leg, I'll be good to go." Sephya said, already walking around Zack and opening the door.

"Slap a bandage... You are the worst patient ever." Zack complained as he walked in after her.

Before Sephya knew what was happening, her feet were no longer touching the floor and she was in Zack's arms, being carried to a metal-framed bed with neat white sheets. Her heart nearly burst out of her chest with surprise and embarrassment. He was lucky the cuts were making it hard for her to move, or a punch to the face would be just the beginning of her "put me down now" reaction.

"Ah! Zack, what the hell!? Put me down right now or I _will_ shoot a fireball at your face!"

"Go ahead, we're already at the infirmary and I'm sure I can find something to reattach my head with around here." Zack replied in a mocking tone, plopping Sephya down on the bed, then placing a gloved hand over the cut on her thigh.

"Ugh, what the hell is that for?!" She complained when her escape attempt caused pain to flare under Zack's hand.

"Let me help you with this, or I'll keep my hand there until you say yes."

Sephya rolled her eyes so eagerly she nearly pulled a nerve, then fell back on the bed, too tired to argue. "Fine, knock yourself out... you're lucky I'm too tired to cast right now..."

Happy with his victory, Zack removed his now bloody hand from Sephya's leg and started walking around the room filled with the smell of sterilizer, taking stuff from various cabinets after removing his bloody gloves and washing his hands.

While he was busy, Sephya removed her boots and placed them neatly beside the bed, happy to see the blood hadn't reached her shoes, just soaked the black socks that reached a bit higher than the boots.

When he returned to her side, Sephya had sat up on the bed and watched in silence while Zack placed rolls of gauze, a jar full of cotton balls and a bottle of disinfectant down on the mattress next to her. Deciding it would be better if she was sitting sideways on the bed, with her legs hanging off the side, Sephya shuffled around until she was in position. Immediately Zack shot her a look, probably thinking she was about to run off, and she put up her hands.

"Calm down big boy, I'm not running away. Yet..."

She grinned when she said "yet", then laughed at Zack's annoyed expression.

"Alright you stubborn woman, show me that leg." Zack said, sliding a hand under Sephya's hurt leg to lift it up.

His hand landed high on her thigh, and she flinched when he touched her, surprised by the sudden contact. His big hand on her leg made her feel funny all over again, and she seriously wished she could blow a hole in the floor and fall in it. Her cheeks were burning, and her heart was beating way too fast for someone who rarely felt embarrassed. Why was she so conscious of Zack? She wasn't used to being around men, and their touch made her sick, but that didn't mean she made a habit of getting all worked up around them.

But more importantly, why did Zack's hands feel... good?

"Umm... I think I can take care of that cut myself Zack, so-"

"You've been swaying like a leaf in the wind for a while now Sephya, and I'm pretty sure you're feeling weak from blood loss. I'll be fast, so just let me take care of this, alright?" Zack said without taking his eyes away from her damaged leg. "We have to clean all this blood, or I won't even be able to see how deep this cut is..." He whispered, moving away from her again to start filling a small glass bowl with water.

Sephya stared at her leg for a moment, chewing on her already hurt lip to try and move her senses away from the lingering feel of Zack's hand on her thigh. His hands were so big and warm, they should have scared her but made shiver instead. And not because she was cold.

"Zack, seriously, I'm not so hurt that I can't wrap a bandage around this."

Walking back to the bed looking like he wasn't even paying attention to her complaints anymore, Zack pulled a small white table closer to Sephya, then set the water bowl down on it, along with a small white towel.

"Stop complaining, you're not getting out of this. I'll pay you back later for all the hassle. How about a date?" Zack said with a smile while dipping the white towel in the water, then wringing out the excess liquid.

"No payback needed, thanks. And did you seriously just ask me out on a date?" Sephya asked, watching Zack like a hawk as he knelt in front of her, towel in hand.

His free hand grabbed her ankle, and Sephya flinched, almost kicking him in the face. Zack recoiled a little, looking up at her with both eyebrows raised.

"Whoa there, I think that's the worst rejection I've ever gotten. No need to get rough Sephya, just say no."

Sephya didn't miss Zack's mocking tone and narrowed her eyes at him, trying and failing to stay calm as he carefully wiped the blood on her leg with the damp, warm towel.

"Funny Zack, ah-ah, you're a real comedian." She said, teasing him in an effort to distract herself from the feels traveling up the leg he was touching. "So, do you ask a lot of girls you just met on dates?"

Zack looked up from his task of cleaning her leg, that was slowly but surely inching closer to higher, more embarrassing places.

"Mm... not that many, but it's hard to ignore a pretty girl." He said with a mischievous grin, moving his free hand a little higher up her leg to raise it.

A shiver traveled up and down Sephy's spine. No one had even implied she was pretty before, and Zack's hand on her leg was turning into a real problem when combined with his words. She could feel it so clearly, that every light brush overshadowed the stinging pain of the cuts. Which was really saying something, since the searing pain wasn't exactly negligible.

"I'm not a pretty girl Zack, I'm a tomboy who grew up playing with blades instead of dolls." Sephya said, watching Zack as he carefully brushed the towel over the actual cut now, clearing it of excess blood. It stung like hell, but Sephya wasn't about to let it show.

When he was done, she finally saw the cut clearly, and it was deeper than she had been expecting. It sucked to admit, but that damn machine had done some serious damage.

"That does _not_ sound safe, but being a tomboy doesn't mean you can't be pretty. Not when it comes to you, at least." Zack said, smiling and winking at Sephya before turning away to go drop the bloody towel in the water bowl.

She felt like punching him for saying stupid stuff that set her cheeks on fire. And looking sexy when he winked. "Hey Zack?"

Walking back to the bed, Zack grabbed the bottle of disinfectant and poured a bit of the liquid onto a cotton ball. "Mm?"

"If we ever fight a machine like that again, I'm letting it put a few extra holes in you."

Zack laughed at Sephya's remark as he bent down in front of her, dabbing the cut with the soaked cotton ball. The disinfectant stung like hell, but Sephya refused to complain, balling her hands into fists and ruffling the sheets under them. Zack seemed to notice her quiet struggle but said nothing, focusing completely on the task of wrapping her leg.

When he was finished, Zack straightened and glanced at Sephya's shoulder. Instinctively, she reached out to touch the hurting place and realized her dress was damp with blood. No wonder she was feeling woozy.

"We have to take care of that shoulder next, but..." Zack leaned down to inspect her shoulder, bringing his face close to hers enough to trespass on her personal space. Like an idiot, she couldn't help noticing how beautifully shaped his full lips were, and momentarily smelling his fresh, citrusy cologne mixed with a bit of clean sweat. What the hell was wrong with her? "Either you take this dress off, or I'll have to cut it to access the wound."

Sephya stared wide-eyed at Zack for a whole minute, saying nothing. First, she was being too conscious of him and ogling his lips, and now he wanted her to strip? What a day...

When the outrage finally passed, she glanced around and cleared her throat.

"Sian should be back soon, right? I think we should wait, I'm good waiting, just gimme some pain killers."

Hands on hips, Zack stared at Sephya, his cheeks looking slightly flushed. "Look, I know this is uncomfortable as hell, but that looks bad, I don't think we should wait." Sighing, he ran a hand through his already messy hair. "That said, I'll leave this one up to you. I've trespassed into your personal space enough as it is."

Sephya stared at her feet for a moment, pondering Zack's words. Butterflies sprung to life in her belly at the thought of him touching her again, but he was just trying to help and it would be better to take care of the wounds now. They still needed to make their reports too, and sitting around waiting for the doctor with her shoulder bleeding sounded like a stupid way to pass the time, not to mention dangerous.

Convincing herself that this was just one of those "get it over with" moments, Sephya sighed and moved her hair out of the way, slinging it over her healthy shoulder.

"There's a zipper on the back of the dress, let's just get this over with..."

Zack's cheeks flushed visibly at Sephya's resigned whisper, but he just nodded and leaned on the edge of the bed next to her. Seriously wishing she could just disappear and force her heart to quit hammering her ribs, Sephya looked away as Zack reached for the zipper and slowly slid it down to the middle of her back.

"Zack? Is something wrong?" Sephya called, glancing at him when he stopped moving after pulling down the zipper.

He was looking intently at her back and seemed to snap out of it when she looked at him.

"No, uh... Sorry Sephya, I just..." He rubbed the back of his head and glanced at the white ceiling. "felt like I was trespassing all of a sudden..."

Sephya raised an eyebrow, keeping her arms tightly crossed over her chest as she adjusted her seating position, making sure the dress didn't open more than what was necessary.

"Trespassing? That's an odd way to put it. Don't you mean uncomfortable?"

Zack looked seriously troubled for a minute, looking at everything in the room but Sephya. "Kinda, yeah, but not quite... it's hard to explain, but anyway, are you sure this is cool?"

She nodded. "Yeah, that shoulder is hurting like hell, and I can't bandage it properly on my own so, here we are. You're just helping a fellow SOLDIER with first aid Zack, it's fine."

Zack's beautiful sky blue eyes focused on Sephya's greener ones for a moment, as if searching for some sort of hidden approval. Just as Sephya was about to look away from his decidedly handsome face, he seemed to find the resolve he was searching for and focused on her shoulder instead.

Carefully, he moved the bloody fabric clinging to the cut, and Sephya grit her teeth, struggling through another round of pain while Zack disinfected the wound. When everything was clean, he quickly made a bandage with a square of gauze, securing it with medical tape and making sure everything was in place before moving away. Every time his fingers brushed her skin, Sephya squeezed her eyes shut, filling her head with random stuff to tamp down the pounding of her heart and all the heat rushing to wrong places. When it was finally done, Sephya's head was buzzing and she felt dizzy.

"There, all done. How are you feeling Sephya?"

She looked up at Zack, now standing in front of her, and seriously wished a black hole could open up under her feet in the following seconds. "I'm alright, just kinda tired, but... could you pull that zipper up for me? Sorry..."

Both of Zack's eyebrows rose when he realized she couldn't reach back with the bandage and he shook his head, as if quietly lecturing himself.

"It's alright Sephya, sorry I didn't notice."

Sephya smiled, trying to lighten the tense mood. "It's fine, and thanks for all the help."

Zack returned her smile, then quickly helped her zip up the dress, moving away as soon as it was done. She felt bad about making him uncomfortable, but at the same time, it was a good thing if it made him eager for distance.

She appreciated the breathing room, and his slight embarrassment made her happy. She didn't want to think of him as a player used to getting girls naked, and was thankful for the effort he had gone to, to avoid touching her more than necessary. They were coworkers after all, it was important to keep things as professional as possible. Gaia knew, Zack had already seen too much for someone she had just met.

"Well, now that this is taken care of, what do you say we go write up those reports and get something to eat?" Sephya asked, finally getting up and checking how much weight her hurt leg could currently handle after carefully putting on her boots. "If you have time, that is."

"Sounds good, and I do need to take care of that report. Shouldn't you change out of that dress first though?"

Sephya shrugged, grabbing the bottle of disinfectant still on the bed, along with a few cotton balls. "I'd like to, but I have nothing to change into. My apartment is close by, but I think I'll just tough it out." Walking to the oval mirror hung on the wall opposite the bed, Sephya examined her reflection, then cleaned the cuts on her cheek and lip. "It's almost time for us to leave anyway, and I want to get that report done before then."

While looking intently at her reflection in the mirror, Sephya spotted Zack behind her, looking her up and down, and probably totally aware that she was onto him. Just as she was about to turn around and ask if there was something stuck to her back, Zack spoke up.

"You know, I think we could ask for a spare office uniform at the front desk of the office floor below ours. SOLDIER uniforms are custom made and they won't have any, but they might have some spare office uniforms. Even if it's not your exact size, it would be better than walking around with bloody clothes."

Done with her last first aid task and relieved to know Zack hadn't been checking her out, Sephya tossed the used cotton balls and pondered Zack's idea while putting away the disinfectant. He had a point, walking around with bloody and ripped clothes was pretty uncomfortable. She hadn't really noticed what the office clothes at Shinra looked like, hadn't been paying attention, but they couldn't be worse than her dress at the moment.

"Well, you have a point and I guess I could check at least, nothing to lose." Sephya glanced around to make sure everything was in place, then started walking to the door. Once they were both outside the infirmary, she stopped and looked up at Zack. "You can go ahead and get started on your report Zack, I'll take care of the clothes issue and come find you after."

"Alright, that sounds good. I'll be at the rest area then, you know where it is?" Zack asked with the trademark carefree smile that Sephya was already getting used to.

She gave him a thumbs-up, confident in her memory of the floor plan. "Yep, I know it. See you in a bit then."

Zack nodded his agreement and Sephya hurried away, walking as fast as her aching leg would allow.

When she reached the elevator and the doors slid open, Sephya came face to face with a bulky man in a black SOLDIER uniform. His hair was black like Zack's, but longer and slicked back. She wasn't quite sure, but it felt like she'd seen him before.


	3. No Rest For The Wicked

The man that made her feel seriously small stepped out of the elevator, looking at Sephya with worry in his bright mako eyes.

"Hey, are you alright?" He asked in a deep, rumbling voice, and glanced at Sephya's shoulder.

"Mm?" Sephya looked at her shoulder in a hurry, remembering the state of her clothes and deciding it really was a good idea to get a spare uniform. No need to go around making everyone think she was bleeding out. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine. I got hurt a while ago, but it's already taken care of, no worries."

She flashed the man a smile, eager to show she as fine and there was no need to fuss. The man chuckled and smiled warmly.

"Eh, I see. By the way, are you new? I don't think I've seen you around before."

Sephya nodded. "Yes, I'm Sephya Innes, newly appointed SOLDIER 3rd class. Today's my first day."

The man's eyes lit up with some kind of realization and he seemed to ponder something for a moment.

"Mm… so you're the girl with the scythe who left all the other new recruits in the dust." The man smiled again and extended a hand. He seemed nice on all accounts, but there was a hint of doubt in his eyes as he looked at Sephya, a hint she didn't miss. "I'm Angeal Hewley, SOLDIER 1st class, it's nice to meet you Sephya."

Finally realizing who the man was with the help of his name, Sephya tensed. He was one of the three SOLDIER 1st class, one of the golden boys with fan clubs, according to Zack. How had she not noticed? Shinra was constantly putting them on pedestals.

"It's nice to meet you too sir." Sephya replied, taking the hand Angeal was offering and giving it a firm shake.

Angeal chuckled as Sephya stepped back, standing perfectly straight. "No sir needed, call me Angeal, please."

Angeal was still wearing a friendly smile, but there was something in the way he looked at Sephya that made her uncomfortable. His eyes bore into her, like he knew something but was looking for confirmation. It made her want to run away, which was something she rarely did.

"Oh, alright. Thank you for worrying about me Angeal, and I guess I'll be seeing you around." After flashing Angeal the best smile she could muster, Sephya all but punched the button to open the elevator doors, then walked inside. "I'm in a bit of a hurry right now, so, if you'll excuse, I have to go."

Angeal nodded, but his expression became serious as the elevator doors slid shut. "Of course, see you later Sephya."

The doors shut completely just as Angeal turned away and Sephya leaned against the back wall, holding onto the metal railing to steady herself. Angeal looked like a nice enough guy, especially compared to Sephiroth and Genesis, but he knew something. Something troublesome by the looks of it. No surprise though, since he was one of the top dogs at SOLDIER.

Sephya had made an effort to hide her magic abilities during the practical exams, but Lazard and a few people from the science department had found out, thanks to a particularly harsh solo battle. Sephya had a tendency to get reckless when cornered, and she hated losing, so she had easily thrown caution to the wind when it had looked like she was done for. And now she had given Zack and that other science dude a show too, way to go in undercover. Still, what was done was done, and she would have to take care of things as best she could, unexpected hiccups or no.

The ping of the elevator as the doors opened to the office floor snapped Sephya to attention. She stepped out onto a wide lobby area, and already the lady at the reception desk was staring at her, from all the way across the room. She was drawing too much attention to herself by the looks of it.

"Well, let's get this over with…" Sephya whispered to herself while walking up to the curved reception desk.

The lady wearing a prim white blouse, with her brown hair in a bun, visibly tensed when Sephya stopped in front of her. Sephya frowned, wondering if she really looked that intimidating. She was tired and sort of pissed at herself, and stuff usually showed on her currently cut face, but it couldn't be that bad. Or so she thought.

"Umm… you're from SOLDIER right? Can I help you with something?"

The woman's shaky voice made Sephya frown even more, which, of course, didn't help. "Yeah, I was wondering if you have a spare office uniform I can borrow. My SOLDIER uniform is still in the making, and I just ruined my clothes during an assignment, so, here we are."

Immediately after hearing about the uniform, the lady looked Sephya over so thoroughly she probably knew all her measurements by the time she stopped.

"I see. I think we might have something your size, I'll go check."

"Alright, thanks. And by the way, what's your name?" Sephya asked, honestly appreciating not having to hear another person say she was small for a SOLDIER.

"I'm Kiara." The lady said with a smile as she got up from her high chair and adjusted her skirt. "May I ask for your name miss?"

Sephya shrugged, hands on hips. "'Course, I'm Sephya Innes, SOLDIER 3rd class. It's nice to meet you, Kiara." Kiara chuckled, and Sephya frowned. "Did I say something funny?"

The girl tensed so fast and looked so scared, Sephya immediately felt bad for asking. She hadn't meant to sound or look intimidating, but her normal stance was usually a lot less than friendly so she couldn't help it. She needed to look intimidating, she needed to look like someone not to be messed with, so she could protect what she had left of importance in her life, so she could stand up for herself. Letting her guard down was not an option, even if it made everyone hate her.

"N-no, not at all. I was just thinking, everyone from SOLDIER always looks so confident, you'd think it was a requirement."

Sephya became serious for real, looking Kiara in the eyes. "It is. You'll fail to even get in if you have doubts, and if you somehow get in with your doubts, you'll die, or get someone else killed." The mood became tense and Kiara looked troubled, so Sephya made an effort to offer the girl a small smile. What she had just said wasn't exactly a rule of SOLDIER, but it was a rule she lived by. Know what you want and never give up, if you falter, you might live to regret it. She'd learned that the hard way. "But hey, that's just the way I see things, so don't read too much into it."

Kiara relaxed a little, but was doing her best to avoid Sephya's eyes. "I see… and I think I understand why you would see things that way. The mind needs to be as strong as the body, right?"

Sephya nodded and leaned on the counter, to give her hurt leg some rest. "Yeah, that's the gist of it."

Kiara smiled and finally met Sephya's eyes. "Well, I should go see about that uniform already. I'll be right back Sephya."

Sephya smiled and winked. "I'll be here."

Kiara chuckled as she stepped out from behind the counter surrounding her workplace. Watching her go, Sephya noted the girl was wearing a black pencil skirt and frowned. Maybe the uniform Kiara had gone in search of was different, and Sephya was seriously hoping it was. She hated pencil skirts. They restricted the movements of the legs too much, and the only time she had put one on, she had ended up ripping it beyond repair after getting into a fight. And she'd almost lost that fight thanks to the damn skirt.

After a while of making Sephya wait and almost fall asleep leaning on the counter, Kiara came back with some folded clothes in her hands. She walked up to Sephya and held out the small bundle.

"Here it is, sorry it took so long. We have quite a few spares at the moment, so it took me a while to find the right size."

Sephya took the clothes from Kiara's hands, taking note of the neatly folded black skirt of doom that she was apparently not going to avoid. "It's fine, thanks for the help Kiara. I'm in a hurry right now, but we should talk more sometime, it was nice meeting you."

Kiara smiled, looking a lot more relaxed now. "Definitely, it was nice meeting you too Sephya."

Kiara went to sit behind the counter again and Sephya chuckled, appreciating Kiara's effort to accept her quirkiness.

"I'll see you around then, bye Kiara." She said as she turned to leave, waving once.

Kiara waved as well. "Bye Sephya, and try to be more careful during your assignments. Girls should avoid scars."

Sephya looked at Kiara over her shoulder, stopping for a moment. "I'll try, but don't worry, I have a guardian angel, and she takes all the scars away."

Kiara looked puzzled for a moment, then nodded. "I don't really get it, but that sounds nice."

Sephya laughed and resumed her slow walk to the elevator. "It is." As she entered the elevator, Sephya glanced at her bare legs, at all the smooth, pale skin. It made her want to scream. "If it wasn't for her, I'd be covered in scars…" She whispered as the elevator lurched and began to ascend.

Stepping out back into floor 49, Sephya headed to the changing rooms, found her locker and changed out of her clothes in a hurry. The fact that the changing rooms were unisex was always a great incentive to hurrying the hell up before someone showed up at the wrong time. Blinding coworkers on her first day would probably be frowned upon after all.

After placing her ripped clothes in a bag so she could take them home later, Sephya was about to leave the changing room when she walked into someone's chest right after opening the door. Surprised by the bump that made the cut on her cheek sting, she took a few steps back, then saw who she had bumped into.

A considerably taller than her woman with glossy black hair and angry mako eyes was standing just inside the door Sephya had opened. The woman was wearing a purple SOLDIER uniform, that didn't do much to hide her decidedly curvy figure, despite being a bit baggy on the legs. The woman's appearance wasn't of consequence though, the fact that Sephya hadn't sensed her presence at all was.

It was almost impossible for her to walk into people because even if she couldn't see them, she could feel them coming from miles away and even assess their threat levels to a degree. But the unknown woman was a ghost, even standing in front of Sephya, there was nothing. She didn't look dead, but she had about as much presence as a corpse.

"Hey, uh, sorry I bumped into you. Are you okay?" Sephya asked, showing the woman an apologetic expression, despite being more than on guard.

The woman shrugged and waved a hand, puffing her chest. "I'm fine, of course. And who might you be, little girl?"

Sephya lost all her ability to play nice in a second and narrowed her eyes at the woman calling her a little girl, despite not looking much older than Sephya herself.

"SOLDIER 3rd class, Sephya Innes, and too old to be addressed as 'little girl'. You?"

The woman's hostile expression became even more obvious all of the sudden, and for the first time, something emanated from her body. Aggression.

"Sephya, I know you. You're that prodigy rookie who had an assignment with Zack on her first day, right? Good job getting hurt, _prodigy_."

The woman's condescending tone and complete disregard of Sephya's question were quickly making her someone to blacklist. Too bad she couldn't get violent at the moment.

"Thanks, it's been great really. Now if you'll excuse me, I have things to do."

Done dealing with the unknown rude woman, who was probably her superior by the color of the uniform, Sephya tried to walk past her and out the door, but the woman barred her exit by standing in the way with one arm open, palm pressed to the doorjamb.

"I'm not done talking rookie, so you're not going anywhere."

Sephya's hand found her sword as she held the woman's stare. "Care to test that theory?"

A smile appeared on the woman's full lips, one that showed she would be more than happy to get into a fight, regardless of where they were or how much trouble they would get into.

"I'd say bring it on, but fighting someone weaker who's already injured would be no fun, so I think I'll pass."

The condescending tone of the woman's voice peaked Sephya's anger and she grit her teeth, determined to not get herself into trouble for something so stupid. But her hand still gripped the hilt of her sword tighter.

"Well isn't that nice of you… So are we done here?"

"Stay away from Zack."

Sephya frowned. "Excuse me?"

The woman's eyes glowed with hostility as she looked Sephya over. "I saw you in the infirmary. Why was _he _the one tending to you instead of Sian?"

Sephya whistled, acting overly impressed. "Well, about that… It's none of your business."

"Why you little-"

Before the woman had a chance to finish her sentence, Sephya willed a small ice blade to form in the palm of a hand she hid behind her back. Too fed up with the conversation to waste any more time, she lunged forward, ducking under the woman's arm while shooting the blade at her foot as a distraction. The small blade shattered as it made contact with the SOLDIER's boot, leaving no evidence behind but still causing enough pain to make the woman flinch. But Sephya's escape was still cut short.

Just as she was beginning to think she was home free, the woman recovered and grabbed her arm. Sephya's movements were restricted by the tight skirt and the cut on her leg, so she was easily pulled back. And the pull was so violent she wondered if maybe it had dislocated her shoulder, along with opening the cut on it.

"Where do you think you're going smartass? We're not done here, and what the hell did you do to my foot?!"

Sephya twisted around, trying to free her arm, but the woman's cold fingers just dug deeper into her skin. "Let go of me, right now." She threatened as she gave up the struggle, finally giving in to the anger that soaked her words.

"Or what?"

"Or I'll make you."

The woman laughed, looking less than convinced, and just as Sephya was about to cast a few hundred fireballs, a familiar voice startled them both.

"What's going on here?"

Both Sephya and the unknown woman looked at Zack as he spoke. He glanced at Sephya, then focused his angry stare on the other woman.

"Oh, Zack, we were uh…" The woman stuttered as she let go of Sephya's arm and did her best to appear innocent.

"Keeping coworkers captive and forcing them to listen to nonsense." Sephya complained as she stepped away from the woman and rubbed her arm, trying not to wince as pain flared from her once again bleeding shoulder.

"What? Sephya, come here." Zack held a hand out to her, and despite not enjoying the damsel in distress vibe going around, Sephya went to him, if only to spite the other woman. "Your shoulder's bleeding again…" He said as he looked at a growing red stain on Sephya's white blouse.

She felt like cursing, having just ruined a uniform that wasn't hers and got blood on her clothes for the second time in one day. Her first day at SOLDIER was turning out great…

"Ah, yeah… second set of clothes I ruined in a day, go me."

Sephya chuckled, not wanting to let it show that she was in pain, then the woman cleared her throat.

"Hey, I only grabbed her arm, that blood has nothing to do with me."

Sephya sighed, too tired to argue anymore, and Zack's eyes focused on the woman again.

"Actually, this_ is_ your fault Alena. She was hurt less than an hour ago, and why the hell were you grabbing her arm?"

"I didn't know her shoulder was cut, and why do you care anyway? You barely know her!"

"Wow…" Sephya breathed as she turned away from Alena. "Zack, I need to sit down for a bit, so I'll see you at the rest area, alright?"

Zack nodded, not needing Sephya to explain why she was tired and in a bad mood. Or why she needed a few minutes to herself. She appreciated the understanding.

Not wanting to waste time, Sephya walked away, and Zack and Alena's voices turned to quiet whispers as she distanced herself, until there was nothing but silence.

When she arrived at the rest area, there was no one around and she thanked the heavens for the small blessing.

The rest area was a small space, with a big gunmetal gray table set in the middle and benches of the same color lined around it, all bolted to the metal floor. There were wide windows looking out to the mazelike city and a few potted plants lined around, but the space was sparsely decorated at best. Not that Sephya cared, she just wanted some peace and quiet.

The sky that had been gray throughout the day was beginning to darken even more outside, and she sensed the rumbling of thunder in the distance. Soon it would begin to rain, and then the loud crackling of thunder would echo around the city. But by then she would be home, and for now, she just needed to rest her eyes.


End file.
